Hi all!

I finally have the medical report and I have a shortage of white and red blood cells and this is all because of a nasty protozoa that I caught in Turkmenistan. It is thus not giardia (a flagellate) but it causes similar symptoms. You all might wonder why I keep going on about it but it affects my travelling in a big way as I was loosing my condition and health fast and could not travel the way I wanted to. Anyway, I have a new medicine now and I hope they will work, fingers crossed. Time to fight back!

Tomorrow I will leave for Murgab and then head for Kirgistan and China. I most likely arrive in Kashgar at the end of the first week of September so there will be complete silence for the next 3 weeks so don’t worry

The next days I will thus cycle above 4000m through the middel of nowhere on the “Attic of the world” surrounded by yurts, Yaks and beautiful mountain scenery.
The part to Murgab I will cycle together with Scott and from Murgab onwards I will be on my own again. I might however have to take a jeep for a part of the stretch because I lost a lot of days because of those stupid Protozoa.

I will put all the pictures online in Kashgar so don’t forget to check now and then.
See you all later

Marc

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Hi all! Marc here

Greetings from Ghorogh at the border of the Pamir High Plateau (4000m+),  I finally made it after a very rough but beautiful 7 day trip.

No robberies and police adventures for me like Toon but I had some cycling on the edge as well. Cycling on the edge of the small rocky trails through steep gorges, cycling on the edge of the tajik border and cycling on the edge of my condition. It was a very though trip but I would not have wanted to miss it. Tajikistan rocks (literally).

Because of the visit to the doctor in Dushanbe I only cycled 50km and staid with a very poor but very hospital family in a school. Soon after this village the asphalt disappeared and gave way to  river bedding “pavement”, large rocks with small stones of gravel between them. I also had to cross quite a lot of small streams but with the heat it was quite nice to do so. The first 3 days of the trip I cycled over small trails through deep gorges to the base of the Haburabab pass (3260m). However, during the climb it started to rain and the road changed into a sticky glue so I camped near a chaighana (thee house) 1000m below the top and made some fish pasta. That night I woke up because of food poisoning It turned out that you can not trust Russian tins. So I spend an extra day there being sick and recovering. The following day I set out at 8 ‘o clock for the pass and after a loooong but not steep climb I reached the top at 11. Another pass bites the dust! The downhill was very exiting and challenging over small hairpin loop trails with big rocks and through steep gorges. The gorges wind their way trough the mountains and the “road” goes up and down and in the end I had the feeling not getting anywhere. You cycle 70km a day but in a straight line it is only 40km and netto you only gain 20 meters in height.

After Khaleighum, at the base of the pass the asphalt started and from there I followed the border river between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan was only 100 or sometimes even less meters away so I could salam the Afghans They looked quite friendly to me and they live very harsh lives on the steep hill with just a small piece of land and one cow or donkey. No road, no electricity, no nothing. How they manage to live there I do not know. Not everything is as friendly and relaxed though as one evening a saw some older men walking with big Kalashnikovs on the Afghan site. Camping is not without risks either because of some minefields but there are signs warning you and most of them are far from the road anyway and they are few.

The second night I camped near the afghan border and when I was cooking my meal I heared some shouting and 3 Russian soldiers approached me pointing there big Kalashnikovs at me. Russian: Stand up, hands up! What are you doing?! Me: Erm, cooking pasta? Russian: We do not believe you! Me: Erm, ok, have a look in the pan then? Russian: Do not move!! Me: Ok, OK, then you look. Look, there’s my tent and bicycle. Then they relaxed a little and fired their Kalashnikov in the air to warn their commander. So he came with his jeep and off we went to the military base. It turned out it was located just at the other site of the hill where I camped They checked my pass and luggage and they turned out to be a friendly bunch so I slept at their base and after a great breakfast and with extra food I set off again. The following days it was easy cycling on sticky Tajik asphalt. However, I am having Giardia problems again (the Dushanbe pills did not work) so on the last days I had to fight against my energy-less body to reach Khorogh. So today I had my blood checked and they will examine my feces for parasites. I will know the result on Monday. In the meantime I got quite attached to the lovely western toilet at the Pamir Lodge where I am staying. It is a great relaxed place and cheap (5$ a night) and I really can recommend it to everyone. It is rather hidden at the outskirts of the town near Gagarin high school at 37 29.223N 071 33.736E. 

The internet connection is OK (but expensive) so perhaps I will put some photo’s online within the next days, who knows… So stay tuned

Marc 

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Hi all!

Today I will leave for the pamir. I just visitied the doctor and everything is OK (a little underweight, I weigh 58 kilo now) and I have a whole load of pills to fight Giardia and any other possible disease and I got a polio shot as many Afghan refugies cary it. The clinic is very good but rather expensive but it is the only western clinic here in Tajikistan. The german doctor knows his job and also likes touring cycling
So for whoever is in need the clinic is located behind the Chineese embassy. Here’s the address:
Prospect Medical Clinic, 33, Sanoi Street, Dushanbe. GPS: 38 36.145N 068 47.101E.

Ok, I’m off to the Pamir so see you later all!

Marc

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Hi All,

Marc here, I safely made it after a rough trip from Samarkand to Dushanbe. So what happened since the last update?

First of all I got sick again (Giardiasis was playing up) but I staid at the small farm of Abdulaziz and his wife Nilrifar and after some nourishing shorpa, black grapes and Lauchai (thee with LOTS of sugar) they got me up my feet again in no time. Thanks for the hospitality The next day I visited a wedding with my host and had a great time there. Sadly he next day it was time to say goodbye as Tajikistan was calling me.

Tajikistan, what can I say about it? First of all it is a vertical country with beautiful high mountains and steep gorges. And then there are the Tajik “roads” and they are the most awful, most disgusting, absolutely the WORST dirt ‘tracks’ I have EVER encountered. Flooded, sandy, bare rocks, earth slides, deep holes, small patches of asphalt with loose stones, you name it, they have it. To call them roads is to much, basically they are just gravel tracks with big holes with sometimes a lonesome piece of ancient soviet asphalt. To reach Dushanbe I had to cycle on these ‘roads’ and climb around 2000m to the top of the 3378m high Anzob pass, the main aim of my first days in Tajikistan. Because of this it took me 4 days to reach Dushanbe. Despite the steep serpentine climb and the very rough downhill (washboard all the way to Dushanbe, my poor butt) the ride was fantastic through deep gorges and high alpine like landscapes. You want the real stuff? Forget the alps and come to Tajikistan Your butt will hurt a lot but the scenery and the people are just fantastic!

Now I am recovering at Goulya’s and Claire’s place and organising a lot of stuff before I leave in 1 or 2 days for the Pamir. Yesterday I had my last wisdom thooth pulled as it was rotten(they somehow had ‘forgotten’ to pull it the Netherlands) and it was quite different than in Europe. Here you go to a clinic with rows and rows of dentist chairs and on the beat of some Russian techno music they pull it out in no time. Costs: 55 somoni (around 20$). Furthermore I organised my Kirghiz visa and after a loooong search I finally located the embassy in a small back alley. It is located at 38 36.022N 068 46.989E. Can anybody tell me why they always hide all the the embassies in small alleys and such?

I also received my parcel with electronics from germany and one parcel for Toon (I will send it to Kashgar) and after installing all the electronics I can now charge all my batteries while cycling 12V legpower is enough to charge 4 batteries in around 4 hour. Thank you Wolf!

I plan to leave tomorrow or the day after and will head for the Pamir. I will have to cross some mean passes (4000m+) but the road is supposed to be ‘good” although in some areas rather remote. I thus will do some shopping and by lots of cookies, rice, potatopowder, pasta and whatnot as stores are going to be scarce (around every 100km).
I will thus be without internet until the 1st or 2nd week of September when I hope to reach Kashgar so in the meantime enjoy the pictures of beautiful Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. 

Cycle the world,
Marc
 

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